Perhaps the only Hobbits this won’t greatly affect are those at Hobbit Hobby Shop in Fayetteville, North Carolina, a seller of tabletop games, miniatures, dice and other materials. Their name, says store manager Rick Palmer, is a happy accident.

“Well our name is really a combination of Hobby and Bit,” Mt. Palmer explained. “Nobody was even thinking of Hobbits when they named the place.”

Fans may wonder if gamers in North Carolina have been living in a non-Hobbit hole in the wall if the store’s name doesn’t bring scores of clientele who are seeking rings, runes and everything Elvish.

“Really,” Mr. Palmer responded. “Although we do sell some swords like those in the movie we get made from a special dealer. We sell the Hobbit role playing game (RPG) but that never got very popular around here.”

After December 17 the best any Tolkein fan can hope for is to hop aboard a flight with New Zealand Airlines which has made Middle Earth into its cash crop by promoting the filming locations for the various epic films.

Even so, perhaps, in the final chapter, the one to rule them all will be the makers of Kleenex.